Becoming a big sister

August 14, 20134 min read

The night a pregnancy test confirmed that the exhaustion I was suffering was down to a new baby and I wasn’t in fact dying, we had to make a quick decision about whether to tell Talitha right away. I seriously considered Googling “tell two year old about new baby” to see what other parents had done but in the end we decided to just go with our gut instinct. It just seemed right to tell her.

“Mummy has a baby in her tummy,” we said. She smiled and cheekily replied: “Talitha has a baby in her tummy.” Ah, so she didn’t get it – as expected. Yet if we were telling others about the new baby (we hadn’t kept it a secret with her so didn’t this time either) then she needed to hear it first, really.

I pointed out new babies to her when they arrived in church or came to our breastfeeding groups. When she saw heavily pregnant women, I explained that they had babies in their tummies just as mummy does. She’s even now met a newborn, having seen her mother pregnant. I explained to her the “big sister, little sister” dynamics of the families we met.

However, I think the thing that’s had the biggest impact on her is seeing tiny baby clothes. A few weeks ago, Laurence was moving stuff around in the loft when the bag with Talitha’s 0-3 months clothes burst open. So he had to bring it down. Talitha was intrigued. As we sorted them through, I explained that she wore these clothes and so would the new baby (she’d worn clothes of both genders). She announced that she would dress the baby and change its nappy. Hopefully that means that she won’t be in nappies herself by then!

She now insists that she’s not a baby anymore. She’s a girl. Maybe this would have happened anyway but I feel like it’s connected with the new baby. When I ask her if she’s a baby, she tells me: “Talitha not a baby. Mummy has a baby in Mummy’s tummy!”
Suddenly, she’s insisting on walking more and on dressing herself more. She often wants showers not baths. I can see she’s growing up and I am glad of it. I’m a little wistful at times but things very much feel as they should be.

Yet, every now and then she does something which reminds me that she still needs to hold on to her babyhood a little longer and I’m glad of that too. She still breastfeeds even though my milk has just about dried up. It’s usually just for a few seconds unless it’s the sleepy morning feed. It’s as if she just wants to make sure it’s still there, available to her – and truly it is.

We’re still babywearing too. I needed to use the pushchair a bit during this first trimester but, honestly, that’s as difficult for me as having her on my back. Now that morning sickness and exhaustion are going, it’s not a problem to wear her. As I said, she often wants to walk but she surprised me today by asking not only to be carried but for me to wear her on my front, something we have not done for months and months. She promptly fell asleep.

As I cuddled her for a bit before laying her down, I thought: “You are going to be a great big sister. But you are also still my baby.” I just hope I can keep nurturing her independence as she grows up over these coming months and years but still remember to let her be a baby when she needs to be.

it is hard moving from one baby to the next in some ways but girls especially i think, like to be grown up and look after the new baby. She sounds like she will make a great big sister 🙂Note from Lapland recently posted..Should Women’s Magazines Be Kept On The Top Shelf?

It sounds like she will be a fantastic big sister. Dylan suddenly seemed so grown up once the new baby arrived but then he fell asleep one day cuddled up on me and I remembered just how little he still was.Bex @ The Mummy Adventure recently posted..Win a Cath Kidston Changing Bag

So cute. Iyla goes through phases and sometimes she likes to be the ‘big girl’ – like when she’s allowed an ice-cream and Jobey’s not! But then other times she asks to be picked up and I cuddle her thinking how she will always be my baby too. It’s weird seeing how much more grown up they seem though compared to a little baby. I think she still wants to be a baby in regards to wearing a nappy though, she is just so reluctant to stop wearing them! xMum2BabyInsomniac recently posted..Bristol Balloon Fiesta

Oli never understood that I was carrying another baby, we told him and there was times where he would notice my bump and pay it attention. Kissing it and stoking it but I know he never really fully understood. When Dylan arrived, he just kind of naturally fell into being a big brother. Any doubts I had were instantly gone once I saw them blossoming together as siblings.

The strangest thing was when Oli came into the hospital that week to see me and to meet his brother, I suddenly saw him in a different light. He was no longer my baby and he looked absolutely huge compared to what he was like before I gave birth to his brother.

She is just so adorable! I think you’re totally right to follow your instincts and let Talitha lead. My daughter is a year older than Talitha and still has her baby moments when she wants a cuddle. In fact – I’m 30 in October and I still feel like that occasionally too!Molly recently posted..A night off

They’re at an interesting age aren’t they? On the threshold of becoming girls but still babies. So grown up but yet not, Matilda is obsessed with babies in tummies at the moment and regularly tells me ‘I want another baby like Iris” (her best friends little sister)The Fool recently posted..Kitchen helpers

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